


I Don't Deserve You

by FanDreams01



Series: Friend Fics [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Cuddling, Dubcon Cuddling, F/M, First Dates, Mild Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Not Spider-Man: Far From Home Compliant, Peter also calls Tony, a bit of Irondad, deceptively angsty title, it's barely there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:47:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26321404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanDreams01/pseuds/FanDreams01
Summary: “Peter, you know what I said about hyperventilating. What’s happening, kiddo?”“Oh my god— uh, could you help me out,Mr. Stark?”“Kid, I couldn’t beat that Homescapes level either, so—““No, not that… um, it’s just… MJ asked me on a date? I don’t know what to do… oh my god…”Or: MJ and Peter go on their first date. Spoiler alert, it ends with MJ learning Peter’s secret, Peter fighting a poorly prepared villain, and… involuntary cuddling?
Relationships: May Parker (Spider-Man) & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones & May Parker (Spider-Man), Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Friend Fics [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1661743
Comments: 2
Kudos: 85





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Part of a series in which I post my friend's (You.Me.Shiratorizawa.) fanfictions because she doesn't have an account.

Peter’s breath hitches as he reads the text that pops up on his phone. He blinks furiously, yet the message is still there.

**_Message from “MJ gave me her number!!!”,_ **

**_Hey, I was wondering if you’d want to go out for lunch some time? I found a small café that I thought a cheesy sap like you would enjoy, but you can always check it out on your own. It’s called “Brewed Awakening”, isn’t that stupid? Anyways, we can go there whenever, if you’re interested._ **

Peter re-reads the message multiple times, wondering if he missed something. 

_ Wait, she wants to hang out with me? Is this a date, or… a friend thing? It couldn’t be a date… but how do I respond?! _

“Peter, you know what I said about hyperventilating. What’s happening, kiddo?”

Peter looked up at Mr. Stark with wide eyes. Peter had been coming to the lab with Tony after school for a while now. He usually worked on his suit, amazed and flustered every time that Mr. Stark offered to help him out. When Peter had a problem, Mr. Stark could always help him. Peter hoped that he would know what to do in this situation as well.

“Oh my god— uh, could you help me out, Mr. Stark?”

“Kid, I couldn’t beat that Homescapes level either, so—“

“No, not that… um, it’s just… MJ asked me on a date? I don’t know what to do… oh my god.” 

Mr. Stark broke into laughter, earning a glare from Peter that only made him laugh harder. 

“That girl you always talk about? It’s about time, from what I’ve heard.” 

“But what do I reply? I can’t seem too desperate…” Peter was blushing furiously.

“Just say yes already! But be  _ cool  _ about it.” Mr. Stark’s voice was laced with sarcasm.

Peter took a deep breath to steady himself before typing out a reply with shaking fingers.

_ That would be great! I’m free whenever.  _

Peter held his breath and sent the text, immediately cringing at his reply. When he saw MJ begin to type he let out a small squeak, anxiety coursing through his body. Even his spidey senses were lightly buzzing in anticipation.

_ Cool. Tomorrow it is. Meet you there at twelve? _

Peter envied her ability to be so casual.

_ Sure! See you there. _

Peter sent his reply before he could doubt himself, and then the situation hit him. 

_ I’m going on a date. With MJ. Tomorrow.  _

“Hey Mr. Stark? I don’t think that I can come again tomorrow… I’ve got a date? Yeah, I’ve got a date. I’m sorry.”

“No problem, kid.” It was hard to miss the fond smile Mr. Stark sent him.

——

It took Peter a total of fifteen minutes to figure out what he was going to wear. He was looking for something different than what he normally wears, but then that was  _ too  _ different.  _ She’s gonna think I spent a lot of time deciding on this weird new outfit…  _ But what he normally wears just didn’t feel good enough for her… He ended up on one of his more normal and casual outfits, a science pun shirt and a jacket with jeans.

“‘I tell bad chemistry jokes because all of the good ones Argon’, a classic.” Peter reads his shirt with the symbol for Argon, chuckling at his bad sense of humor. 

He lifted his phone to check the time, his heart stopping. It couldn’t be that late yet. “Crap! I’m gonna be so late if I take the bus… I could run? No, there’s too many people on the streets… Crap, crap, crap!!” He dug his fingers into his hair, cursing himself for not getting ready sooner.  _ I’m supposed to be smart, dammit! _

He looked wildly around the room, searching for some kind of solution, before his eyes landed on his suit. It had been thrown under his bed from the night before.  _ That could work… _

Throwing on his suit and shoving his clothes into his backpack, he rushed out his window into the streets of Queens. Usually, swinging through the buildings would do wonders for whatever was stressing him out, but it failed to do so this time.

“Uh, Karen?” Peter shot a web onto another building, going as fast as he could.

“Good morning, Peter.”

“Can you give me the quickest route to… Brewed Awakening? It’s a café.” Peter explained.

“Of course.” A map popped up in the corner of his vision, showing the route and estimated time of arrival.  _ 11:58. I can work with that.  _

Peter raced through the streets, grateful that there was nothing going on that would need his attention. When he saw the café on the street he turned onto, he swung into an alley nearby. He changed, as quickly as he could with shaking hands, into his clothes and webbed his backpack behind a dumpster. 

When he finally arrived at the cafe, one minute late, he saw MJ sitting on a stool in the corner of he shop, sketching. She looked up as he approached the table, putting her sketchbook away.

“Hey,” she greeted him, and read his shirt. “Man, I didn’t think that there was anything cheesier than this café’s name, but I stand corrected.” She commented dryly.

“Good to see you too. What were you drawing?” Peter sat down across from MJ. She nodded to something behind him, and when Peter turned around to look he was met with the most ridiculous looking man he had ever seen. 

He had a huge blonde afro, a stupidly curled mustache, and aviator sunglasses to match. Peter turned back to MJ, failing to contain his laughter. She showed him her half finished drawing of the man, in which he was posed painting a tree on an easel with a squirrel on his shoulder. The drawing was titled “Bub Ross”.

Peter laughed loudly, laughing even harder when the man actually turned and looked at him. MJ snorted at him, her lips upturned in a smirk. 

_ ——— _

The time passed quickly, as they ordered food and talked. Peter was expecting the date to be awkward, where he would inevitably run out of things to talk about and ruin things with MJ. But they were constantly joking and talking, and  _ shit  _ it was fun. 

Hanging out with MJ was different than hanging out with anyone else. She balanced out Peter, where he was over-talkative; she was more of a listener, where he was shy; she was bold and carefree. It was just so…  _ easy  _ being with her. Her responses and jokes seemed cold and rude to most people, but Peter had learned that that was simply how she talked.

“Why’d you order a coffee? It’s like two in the afternoon.”

“What? I’m thirsty. Plus, the waiters looked like they’d kick us out for loitering.” MJ shrugged. 

The waiter, who happened to be Bub Ross, came over to give MJ her coffee. As soon as he left, MJ started to drink it.

“Uh, isn’t it hot?” MJ glared at him, deliberately drinking her coffee while Peter laughed at her. 

“I know you said you don’t like coffee, but I want to see you try it. I bet you can’t handle it.” She dared with a raised eyebrow, nudging the cup of black coffee closer to him. 

“I can  _ totally  _ handle it, I just don’t like to get jittery.” Peter huffed. It was technically a lie, the reason he didn’t like to drink coffee was because it was usually too bitter and strong… which isn’t fun with enhanced senses. 

Peter picked up the cup, taking a sip and regretting it. He must have made a funny face, because MJ started laughing. He wasn’t sure he had ever really heard her laugh, and he decided he had to make her laugh like that more often. It might have been his favorite sound. 

They both fell into a fit of laughter, knowing that the employees and customers were probably staring but not really caring. It was  _ amazing.  _

But like most amazing things in Peter’s life, it had to come to an end. 

MJ was talking about how she  _ knew  _ that one of the teachers in their school was sexist, and how she was planning to prove it, when Peter’s spidey sense buzzed.

It wasn’t extremely intense or painful, but it was definitely  _ there.  _ Usually when his spidey senses started alerting him, his enhanced senses would be dialed up to assist him. His senses flared, hitting him in a wave of  _ woah…  _

His vision was suddenly  _ super  _ high definition, and he could see the different shades of brown in MJ’s eyes. There were even some ribbons of green that he hadn’t noticed before. The taste of coffee that had barely lingered now tasted almost as strong as the real thing. He was sure he could hear and smell everything in a couple miles radius.

This all hit him in a split second. “Woah…” He rested his forehead on his palms, cursing his Parker Luck. His senses flared like this quite often, but he never got used to it. While he was fighting it could be extremely useful, and he never really minded it until after. 

The heightened senses could sometimes stick around for long after the fight, causing sensory overload where everything became  _ way too much.  _ His spidey senses would usually decide to stick around as well, causing him to be on edge on top of the sensory overload. This only happened when he was particularly stressed, and he hoped it would go away when it was supposed to this time.

_ But what’s happening that triggered this? _

“... Are you good, Peter?” MJ’s voice sounded careless, but there was a hint of concern underneath it. Her heartbeat picked up its pace just a bit.

“Oh, yeah… just a stupid headache. I’m fine, sorry.” Peter lifted his head, giving a small smile. 

“I’m sure I have some Advil…” MJ started digging through her bag.

Peter heard someone’s phone as if it was being played right into his ear. “... This lunatic is currently raging through Queens with several strange and unidentifiable missiles. He doesn’t seem to be harming anyone except the police, yelling demands that he must defeat Spider-Man. Please stay inside or evacuate the area if safe…” 

“Crap, I must have left it at home…” Peter was drawn back to MJ, his mind racing.  _ He wants Spider-Man… He’s attacking the police and they haven’t been able to stop him so far? I have to help… _

“I… I’ve gotta go… I’m so sorry, MJ, I just… sorry.” Peter got up, rushing out of the cafe. 

“Oh… bye?” Peter hears MJ mutter as he runs towards the alleyway, checking that no one is there to see him before ducking into it. 

Peter would always choose the safety of others over his personal life. He didn’t leave MJ because he disliked her or wanted to leave, but because there were people in danger that he could help. He would always choose helping people in danger over doing things for himself, which kinda terrified him.

“Karen, what’s the situation? Heard there was some guy with… missiles? What’s happening?” Peter perched himself on top of a nearby building. 

“A man, whom a facial scan has shown is a friend of Toomes, is parading through the streets with unidentifiable missile technology and demanding to see you. You must be fairly popular now, Peter.”

“You know it, Karen. Do we have a location?”

A green blip popped up on a map of Queens in the corner of Peter’s vision. He leaped off of the building's roof, shooting a web and heading in the direction of that man.

The fact that the man was a friend of Toomes was frightening him. Sure, they had taken away all of the crazy powerful tech that he and his comrades possessed, but that didn’t mean that one of his friends couldn’t have any themselves. But Peter had defeated Toomes, so he could take one of his less powerful friends with ease.

Right?

As he turned the corner, he was met with a blast that knocked him out of the air.


	2. Chapter 2

MJ stared after Peter as he rushed out of the cafe. No warning, no signs, it seemed like he was actually  _ enjoying  _ himself, yet he was gone before she could blink. 

_ Real classy. _

Peter had been getting better at not ditching Decathlon, so she assumed that he wouldn’t ditch on her that day. Yet, here she was, alone and picking up both of their meals. She probably would have paid for both of them anyways, chivalry being dead and all, but she would have preferred to have done so with Peter actually  _ there.  _

_ A thanks would have been nice, but whatever. _

MJ walked out of the café, turning onto the street with one thought on her mind:  _ why on earth does Peter ditch practices, and now this?  _ Whenever she asked him, she could  _ tell  _ he was lying through his teeth. He wasn’t the best liar. And Ned always backed him up… the answer was  _ right there _ , she just couldn’t reach it. 

She pulled out her phone, planning on playing some music for her walk home, but seeing a news update that caught her eye instead.

_ Crazy lunatic threatening Spider-Man? _

That was when it clicked.

_ Peter leaves and Spider-Man shows up, this wouldn’t be the first time… how could I have missed it? Oh my god… _

The news headline advised her to evacuate Queens if she was far enough away from the man and to stay inside if too close to him, but she had another idea. Instead of turning on to her street, she had a new location in mind.

———

Peter hadn’t even gotten the chance to assess the situation before a missile was being fired in his direction. His spidey sense had warned him a second in advance, but he probably would have been okay either way. The dude was a terrible shot. 

Still, the explosion had shot small pieces of concrete everywhere. Those would be a bitch to take out later. 

Clinging on to the side of a building, he tried to assess the situation. 

There were a few busted police cars, which after a quick scan from Karen, showed no survivors. They must have been the first ones to show up, and were underprepared. Peter’s mind was immediately flooded with guilt.

_ I should have been here sooner to stop this. The man wanted Spider-Man, it’s my fault… _

But he couldn’t focus on that at the moment. There was a man with a missile pointed at him, and Peter’s super hearing showed that police helicopters and armored cars were not close. That left Peter to deal with this guy.

“Isn’t this the part where you do your evil monologue? About why you need to get revenge against me? I’m listening, but make it good. I’ll be grading your response.” 

The man’s mouth opened and closed quickly, obviously trying to think of a good response, giving Peter enough time to shoot a web and snatch his missile gun thingie. The man had managed to pull the trigger, but Peter jumped out of its path as he grabbed the gun from his web. He landed on the ground in front of the man.

“You really didn’t bring another one of these, dude? I’m honestly kinda disappointed that you brought so little… Does this even count as a missile? The explosion was kinda lame...” Peter shook his head, before webbing the missile to a nearby building.

“I’m ‘fraid it’s your turn, buddy.”

“You put my friend in jail. You’ll pay.” The man growled at him. 

“There’s the monologue I was waiting for! That one was a C at best, but you can do test corrections on Mon—“ 

Peter stopped in the middle of his sentence as his spidey sense soared, stinging somewhat painfully, as the man pulled out and threw something at him. Time slowed as the bulky metal object soared through the air. At this point, his spidey senses were searing through his body. He was sure he could hear everything in Queens as his enhanced hearing pounded in his head, which included a small ticking in the metal object.

_ Oh, a bomb. Just great. _

He couldn’t hear any heartbeats in the surrounding area, so instead of trying to smother the bomb somehow, he decided to  _ get the hell away.  _ He leaped and shot a web onto a nearby building, the disappointingly small bomb blowing up once he was a fair distance away. He was pelted pretty hard on the back, and when he turned his head to see what was happening, his face too. There were a few sharp stings where he assumed the concrete had decided to be more annoying, but it could be worse.

Peter decided he’d had enough of the guy. Once he was sure that the explosion was over, he sent a few webs to make sure that the guy wouldn’t pull anything like that again. He webbed the dude to a building, deciding that he would let the police handle the rest. He could hear them approaching. 

“I will find you, and I’ll make you pay! There’s no place on this earth where you can hide!!” The man, clearly insane, screamed in Peter’s face.

“Sure, buddy. That was a little better, maybe a C plus, but I would still recommend test corrections.” Peter sighed. He shot a web over his mouth for good measure. 

_ That really wasn’t so bad. _

Now that the police were almost there and the man was taken care of, Peter’s spidey sense started to wind down. He decided to head back to his apartment, because there was no way MJ waited at the café once he left.

Once he started swinging back to their apartment, he felt all of the cuts and bruises that he was sure the concrete had left.

“How am I doin’, Karen?”

“You have sustained several long but shallow lacerations on your back, arms and face, and some bruising as well. Nothing broken. I would recommend cleaning and bandaging them, but there should be no need for stitches.”

“The usual, then?”

“Yes.” 

It was relatively normal for Peter to return home with multiple injuries to treat. He would usually just clean them out, bandage them if they were big enough, and then let his super healing do the rest of the work. 

But there’s one thing no one tells you about enhanced senses: they can be a bitch sometimes. His super sense of touch would usually be the most annoying when he was injured, making injuries more painful than they would usually be. In situations like these, where his senses were dialed up like crazy and weren’t going away, sensory overload was imminent. After handling his injuries, all he could really do was curl up in his bed and wait it out. 

His room at the compound was equipped with soundproof walls and windows, blackout blinds and soft lights, extremely soft sheets and was devoid of any annoying smells. Mr. Stark made absolutely sure that if Peter’s heightened senses were bugging him, there was a way for him to deal with it. Peter doesn’t know how he survived without it. 

But Peter had promised May that he would be home, because she was getting off of her shift early and wanted to be with him. Also, the news probably covered the story, so she would surely be anxiously waiting for him. So headphones and burrowing in his sheets it was.

He stopped by his favorite taco place to pick up a box, the owner joking with him. He went there often enough after patrol that he and the owner were pretty well acquainted. He landed on the top of a tall building, sitting on the edge and opening his box of tacos.

He pulled his phone out of his backpack, calling Mr. Stark, who picked it up relatively quickly.

“Hey, Pete. Saw what you did today, you doing okay?”

Peter started eating his tacos. Ever since Peter and Mr. Stark had gotten closer, Mr. Stark had insisted that he stop leaving poor Happy his voicemails and call him instead.

“Yep, I had it under control. This guy had the weakest bombs and missiles  _ ever _ , Mr. Stark! I’m disappointed he thought so little of me, like,  _ rude. _ ”

“Rude indeed. How’s your Peter tingle—“

“Spidey sense.”

“— _ Spidey sense,  _ and all of that? How's that doing?” Peter could tell that he was concerned but trying to play it off casually.

“Eh, it’s been worse. Senses are acting up, but my spidey sense is mostly gone now, so that’s cool. It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

“Kid, if I’ve learned anything being with you, it’s that I should be very worried when you say I shouldn’t be. What’s going on?” 

“It’s just… those police officers died because I didn’t get there soon enough. The man wanted Spider-Man, and they weren’t prepared to deal with him…”

“Kid, did you shoot those officers?”

“Well, no, but—“

“Then it’s not your fault. Please don’t feel guilty for their deaths, kiddo.” Mr. Stark’s voice was gentle, calming Peter’s guilt a little.

“Right… thanks Mr. Stark.”

He sighed. “Kid, what else is there?”

“Well… I also kinda ditched my date with MJ to fight that guy. Pretty sure I’ve ruined things between us.” 

“Trust me, kid, if she’s good enough for you, she won’t be scared off by you leaving. Just apologize to her. Hell, I can tell her that it wasn’t your fault myself. I’ll make up some internship bull, just say the word.” Peter chuckled at that.

“Nah, it’s fine. I’ll say it had to do with May, or something. She’ll get it.”

Peter continued his call with Mr. Stark and ate his tacos, only stopping when May texted him asking where he was. Mr. Stark wished him luck dealing with “Aunt Hottie.”

Coming up to his apartment, he pressed his fingers to the window and slid it up. He slipped into the room with the tips of his fingers on the ceiling, dropping to the floor and shutting the window again. He cringed as it slammed shut. He took off his mask, resting his forehead on the window. 

He could hear every little sound in Queens as if it was being blasted painfully into his ear. He heard the steady thrums of heartbeats, feet pounding on the streets, cars roaring and honking. A girl yells at her boyfriend on the phone. Someone plays the news’ coverage of the man Peter fought. 

He sighed, using up the dregs of his energy to lift his head and turn back to his room.

He was met by a very smug looking MJ.

“What the FU—“


	3. Chapter 3

MJ walked up to the apartment that Ned had texted her. She was nervous, but she needed answers.

Knocking on the door, she was met with a woman she assumed was Peter’s Aunt May, from when he talks about her sometimes. 

“Hello, Mrs. Parker.” She shifted on her feet.

“I’m sorry, do I know you?” She sent MJ a questioning look, her hands on her hips.

“No, but I’m a friend of Peter’s. And… I know his secret.” Her eyes widened, and she looked both ways in the hallway before pulling her in.

“Secret? Peter doesn’t have any secrets.” 

_ Like you pulled me in here because he  _ doesn’t  _ have a secret. Please. _

“I know that he’s Spider-Man. He isn’t the best at hiding it.” May’s eyes grew wider.

“Who are you? Do you want something with him?”

“Like I said, I’m a friend of Peter’s… my name’s MJ, by the way… I, uh, realize that this isn’t the best way to introduce myself. I just need to know what’s going on with him.” MJ set a firm gaze.

“Oh, you’re the girl Peter was meeting today. You’re not… you’re not going to tell anyone, are you? Because I  _ will  _ send Iron Man—hell, all of the Avengers—after you  _ so  _ fast.”

MJ smirked. “Trust me, I won't tell anyone. I just want to be there for Peter, I guess. If that’s okay with you.” MJ could see May’s eyes soften, and she knew that she’d just won. 

“Well, I guess that’s okay… but the second you even  _ think _ about outing Peter—“

“I’ll have the Avengers to talk to. I’ve got it, no worries. Just… could you tell me a little bit more about how it happened?”

———

MJ was satisfied by Peter’s surprise at seeing her in his room. He had a few scrapes, as May had warned her there would be, but that’s not what concerned her.

Peter seemed really on edge, flinching at the quietest noises. MJ assumed that this was some kind of spider thing, but May had refused to tell her much besides how he got his powers. She insisted that Peter would tell her the rest if he was comfortable with it.

“W-What are you doing here, MJ?” Peter gaped at her, like a deer in headlights. He knew that there weren’t any lies that could excuse climbing into his window in a Spider-Man suit.

“Well, when you left me at the café, thanks for that by the way, it was kind of obvious. Plus, I don’t think that I’ve ever seen you and Spider-Man in the same room together, so…” Peter rolled his eyes lightly at that.

“You figured it out?” Peter let out a long breath, averting her eyes.

“It wasn’t hard. You did a terrible job of hiding it.”

“So, why come here? To rub it in my face? Blackmail me?” Peter said dryly. MJ narrowed her eyes at him. 

“I-I’m sorry, I know you wouldn’t do that… I’m just kind of on edge right now, probably not the best time for you to be here.” Peter chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck and wincing. MJ’s eyes softened.

“Believe me or not, I just wanted to see that you were okay… well, maybe I wanted to rub it in your face a  _ little,  _ but that’s besides the point. I just want to be in the loop for these things, you know? And if you want me to leave, just say the word and I’m gone. I get it.”

MJ watched as Peter held his breath, awkwardly looking at the floor. 

“I really am doing terrible with this secret identity thing, huh?” 

MJ suddenly wished that she hadn’t come here. Peter was  _ injured,  _ for Christ’s sake! He probably needed time to be alone, to heal and shit. She cursed at herself for her impatience. 

“Do you want me to leave?” She held her breath. There was a part of her that wanted to stay, to hang out with him and make sure that he was okay, but she would never stay if he wanted her to go.

“I didn’t say that…” Peter blushed, his eyes widening even further as if that was possible. “B-But you totally don’t have to stay. I mean, why would you want to? All we could really do is watch a movie or something, but I’m not really the best company right now, so…” Peter awkwardly cut himself off.

“I like movies. But, I don’t want to intrude of course… well, that’s kind of what I was doing, but I don’t want to intrude  _ more.”  _

“We’re happy to have you.” May startled MJ. “Peter would love to torture yet  _ another  _ person to watch all of the Star Wars movies, wouldn’t you, Peter?” May wiggled her eyebrows to Peter, who rolled his eyes at her.

“We don’t  _ have  _ to watch Star Wars…” 

“Star Wars it is. You know, I’ve never seen those movies.” Peter gasped lightly, MJ giggling at the reaction she knew she would incite. His room was filled to the brim with Star Wars merchandise, so she knew he would want to show her the movies. What wasn’t Star Wars was Iron Man themed, which MJ couldn’t help but find that adorable.

“Oh, you  _ have  _ to watch it. I-I mean, we can watch whatever you want… but you’d love Star Wars.” 

“Whatever you say.” Peter grinned at her. She felt something in her chest warm, looking at Peter with his huge smile and curls falling in his face. 

She seemed rather cold and sarcastic to most people, making good friends hard to find. Most of them were scared off by this, wanting someone who was constantly giving them appreciation and approval. MJ wasn’t much of a people pleaser. That didn’t mean she didn’t want friends. 

She could never manage to make friends, and then Peter with his goofy grin and overly happy personality waltzes into her life and completely understands her. He was positive, and bright, and so  _ good  _ it was scary. Where other people were put off by her protective wall, Peter didn’t seem to give a single crap. She practically radiated “leave me alone,” and yet Peter did the exact opposite of that simply because he was Peter Parker and  _ he could do that. _

She would describe this incredible feeling in her chest as butterflies, but that would point to her being in love. She wasn’t in love with Peter. She couldn’t be. It had never happened before, she surely wasn’t capable of it. Right?

“Well, you might want to wait in the living room for a minute, unless you want to sit next to a guy in a leotard.” She snorted at him.

———

“May, can’t we do this later?” MJ was sitting on their couch, reading an article on her phone, when she overheard a whisper-yelled conversation between May and Peter.

“No, you know how your super healing is. No healing around small pieces of concrete in my house, it’s against the rules. You wouldn’t want to break the rules, would you, Peter?” MJ stifled a laugh at her quip, but she was intrigued by what she said.

_ Super healing? Since when do spiders—nevermind. It is interesting, though… I wonder if asking about it would be rude… _

“Can’t we just dig those out later?” Peter whined.

“Oh, once they’ve been healed underneath your skin? Sorry, no can do.”

She heard Peter sigh, letting out a quiet, strangled noise when MJ assumed May pulled out a particularly annoying piece of concrete. She still couldn’t believe that Peter had to deal with things like  _ this  _ so regularly. It was even harder for her to wrap her head around the idea that he had unique abilities, ones that she still didn’t know about… she would have to be careful about filtering her scientific questions, so as not to scare him off. The thought of that terrified her.

“Can you at least hurry it up? She’s kinda waiting for me…” 

_ I don’t deserve you, Peter. _

The thought crossed her mind in a split second, and she shook her head. Peter wasn’t  _ hers,  _ he would never be. But the thought of not deserving Peter wouldn’t leave her.

Peter was far too good, and it felt like she could never match him. She could never be as fun and free as Peter seemed to her. How could Peter ever find her interesting, when she wasn’t nearly as  _ perfect  _ as he was?

_ Stop over-analyzing this. He just enjoys being a friend with you, there’s not much to it. _

“Ok, we can start now!” Peter emerged from the hallway, adorned in another T-shirt and jeans. The shirt, which MJ assumed was Star Wars themed, read, “Does R2-D2 have any brothers? No, only transistors.” 

“I’m two for two with pun shirts today, don’t you think?” He grinned proudly. 

“Peter, you get back here! I’m not done, you still need your Disney princess bandaids.” She put her hands on her hips menacingly.

“But those are for babies! I still don’t know why you got those... but Star Wars waits for no one!” Peter barged ahead, causing May to roll her eyes.

“Remember this when you get an infection, because we won’t be helping you.” MJ cut into their banter, regretting it immediately when they paused for a split second. But as soon as she saw their surprise, it was gone.

“Oh, I’m gonna like you.” May smiled at her.

“Not you too, MJ!” Peter jumped to join her on the couch, bouncing up and down with a puppy-like energy. “I still can’t believe you haven’t seen Star Wars. You’re gonna love it.”

“So you’ve said.”

“Good luck with him, MJ. Try not to annoy her too much Peter, she’ll never come back.” May reached over and ruffled Peter’s hair, making him huff and swat her hand away.

“Ok, so we’ll start with The Phantom Menace. There’s some controversy as to what order to watch the movies, but I think that chronological makes the most sense. The movies get way better than this one though, trust me.” He clicks on the movie, the intro starting on their small tv. Peter was visibly very excited, bouncing up and down before looking at her and stopping himself.

The bold yellow words started to pass through the screen with the theme music. Peter and MJ sat next to each other, with their legs stretched out onto the long portion of the couch. MJ found herself relaxing, eased by how casually this had happened. 

She had just shown up at his apartment and it had gone surprisingly well, despite how nervous she was about it. She regretted coming so spontaneously before, but she was glad that she had come.

MJ smirks as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn start to fight the battle droids with their lightsabers. This was  _ so  _ Star Wars. She looked over to Peter, expecting to see his excited grin at the action, but seeing something much different.

Peter was wincing at each clash and shot, his eyes watering slightly. Her mind immediately jumped to the conclusion that  _ okay, maybe he’s just really expressive when watching movies.  _ But Peter looked like he was almost in pain. She reached for the remote and paused the movie.

“Peter, what’s going on?” She tried to sound casual. Maybe he was completely fine, and she was just misunderstanding. But it  _ really  _ seemed like something was up.

“Oh, well the Jedi are trying to—“ 

“That’s not what I meant.” She cut him off. His voice had sounded weirdly shaky and quiet, concerning her further. “What’s up with you? Don’t tell me you always cry and flinch like crazy in this scene, it’s not  _ that  _ moving.”

Peter huffed. “I—well, it’s kind of… hard to explain.”

“Is that code for it’s a spider thing? Because I’m past thinking that it’s weird. Tell me what’s bothering you.” 

“Well, uh… ever since the bite, things have been really different. I mean, obviously.” He cringed at himself. “But one of those things was my senses. They’ve all been dialed up quite high, which is kind of nice most of the time. Eavesdropping on people, no more glasses, it’s great.” He smiled, looking down at his hands.

“But I have this thing, I call it a spidey sense? Where… let’s say you were going to punch me, I can kind of sense it before it happens.” MJ raised her fist at him jokingly. “Well, sometimes it gets messed up around people I trust, so I wouldn’t try that out…” MJ tried not to make a big deal out of Peter unintentionally saying that he trusts her. 

“So, when my spidey senses are helping me during a fight, my other senses are dialed up even higher to help. And it  _ is  _ really helpful, being able to hear almost all of Queens and  _ literally  _ sniff out anything being hidden. It’s just… the after part that sucks.”

“It doesn’t go away?” Peter nods at her.

“Well, it goes away sometimes, but when I’m stressed out it likes to stick around. And then I can hear everything in Queens like it’s being played right into my ear. Hearing is always the most annoying one… That and touch, which is annoying if I’m hurt…” 

_ Shit, he really has to deal with this kind of stuff all the time. Like sensory overload on steroids. That must literally  _ suck. 

It struck her just how different his life really is. Things she doesn’t have to think about, like an enhanced cut or a movie being too loud or bright, are problematic for him. She had always appreciated Spider-Man, but now that she knew it was Peter,  _ her  _ Peter, it was different. More real.

_ No, not my Peter. He’s not mine. But I wish he was—no, I don’t. I don’t want him… right?  _

“B-But I’m not complaining! I love my powers, I wouldn’t trade them for anything, I’m not trying to act spoiled or anything…” 

_ This guy, I swear. _

“So, no more Star Wars tonight, huh?”

“W-What? Of course we’re still watching! I’m fine, I’ll get over it. Oh look, it’s gone already! It’s a miracle!” Peter begged her with his eyes.

“Nope, no more Star Wars tonight.” MJ’s heart practically broke when Peter’s face fell, and she scrambled to fix it. “Key word being tonight. We can watch it another time. What, you think I’m letting you go that easy? I’m gonna  _ love  _ it, remember?” She teased. Peter’s face picked up, and he smiled at her.

“Really? I thought I would have scared you away by now, I really don’t deserve you.” He laughs.

_ You could never scare me away. And how could you think you don’t deserve me? You’re perfect, and I’m… me. You deserve more. _

“Yes, really. But in the meantime, how does a documentary sound?”

“Booooring!” Peter rolled his eyes, straightening when he saw MJ’s glare. “Uh, what I  _ meant  _ was, I would love to watch a documentary! Why don’t you choose one?” 

“Good answer.”

————

MJ had noticed Peter kind of dozing in her peripheral, but when she saw his chin dip to his chest, she stole a glance. He was indeed asleep, confirmed by the soft and slightly adorable snores he was letting out. She got a chance to check out his injuries, which were doing much better than she remembered. 

She noticed that what was a large gash on his cheek was now a fairly small and shallow cut. It seemed as he fell asleep, the super-healing she had yet to ask about had picked up speed. She watched in fascination as the cut started to very slowly close itself.

When Peter had first entered his room, there was the beginnings of a bruise on his face that was red, and she was sure there were others elsewhere. When he had come to watch a movie, it was more purple and blue. She watched as it inched towards a more green color, and in the course of a few minutes, into yellow before starting to fade. She was by no means a medical expert, but she was sure that bruises and gashes were supposed to take  _ way  _ longer to heal. 

There were a couple lacerations on his arms that were visible as well, which were also inching closed. She wasn’t sure if she was crossing some sort of boundaries by watching, but it was  _ incredibly  _ fascinating to watch. 

“I see he’s finally passed out. Figured it would happen about now.” MJ startled as she turned to see May walk in behind her. 

“Oh, yeah… does this usually happen?”

“Yeah, after a patrol he usually insists that he’s fine, but passes out a couple hours later.” May shook her head. “This kid is gonna be the death of me, I swear.” MJ snorted.

“Won’t he hear us? I thought he had super hearing.” 

May giggled, “He does, but I’m ‘fraid he won’t hear us. if I’m correct, you’ve probably gotten rid of his sensory overload by now. And he’s a heavy sleeper when his senses aren’t  _ too  _ dialed up.” To prove her point, she clapped her hands right above his ear, to be met with a soft snore. They both laughed, before what May had said hit her.

“You said I got rid of it? The sensory overload? I didn’t do anything…” MJ’s eyebrows scrunched.

“I’ve learned that when he’s around people he really trusts, like me or Tony Stark,” she rolls her eyes, “his sensory overload and Peter tingle can calm down. He feels safe when he’s near us, which helps his senses calm down and usually makes him pass out.” She cards her fingers through his hair, and he leaned into the touch subconsciously. It was undeniably adorable. 

“I figured that being around you would cause the same thing. It probably took a little longer, but he does trust you. Please don’t do anything to break that trust, I’ve still got that backup plan.” She winks at MJ. 

“Want to try something?” May asks, wiggling her eyebrows. MJ raises one of hers.

“Like what?”

“He would kill me if he knew I was doing this, but I don't really care...” May takes MJ’s hand, placing it on the side of Peter’s face. MJ immediately sputters, turning bright red and causing May to laugh at her. To MJ’s surprise, Peter leans into her hand in his sleep, letting out a sound that could only be described as a purr. May let go of her hand, and MJ decided to explore a little. She slid her hand into Peter’s hair like she had seen May do, exploring his curls with her fingers. Peter continued to purr softly, smiling slightly in his sleep. 

“Wow…” she mutters. 

“And if my calculations are correct…” May trails off.

To MJ’s horror and surprise, Peter reached an arm around MJ’s torso, squishing his face into the crook of her neck and shoulder. May laughed at her.

“There’s one thing that they don’t tell you about having your very own spider-kid…” 

MJ tried to wiggle out of his grip, which wasn’t very strong, but she simply  _ couldn’t  _ get his hand off of her. She tried pulling it off, but it seemed to be  _ stuck  _ to her clothes. Realization hit her.

“They’re sticky. Thanks for sparing me tonight, MJ. Consider this payback for showing up out of nowhere and figuring out my kid’s secret. I’ll tell your parents that you’re having a sleepover.” May laughed maniacally, walking away from her.

“Wait! Please help me! How do I—“ MJ growled as May saluted, entering her bedroom for the night. Peter’s eyebrows furrowed in his sleep, as if sensing her anger. He snuggled his face closer to her, humming in satisfaction.

“You’re lucky I’m not allowed to kill you, Peter. Very lucky. But when you let me go, you’re sure as  _ hell  _ going to need those princess bandaids.” 

Peter purred in his sleep, somehow knowing that she didn’t mean that.


End file.
